Business partners and brothers-in-law, Murli Mulchandani and Rikesh Nichani, first met Mail Boxes Etc. (MBE), the specialist business services franchise, at The National Franchise Exhibition after spending a year seeking the right franchise.
“We wanted to see all that was on offer and to meet franchisors face-to-face. There were many good opportunities but none really appealed until we met MBE,” says Murli. “We particularly liked the combination and variety of MBE’s different services and we struck a real rapport with the people we met. We went to see some centres and talked to franchisees.”
He adds: “We were impressed and decided to go for it. We knew that MBE’s services meet a genuine need and since we opened our first centre we have discovered that the demand is escalating, especially for courier services and mailbox rental.”
Murli and Rikesh have since achieved great success. They now operate four stores in central London and have won MBE’s Franchisees of the Year award in recognition of their achievements and contribution to the overall growth and success of MBE in the UK and Ireland. Before joining MBE, Murli headed a company importing and distributibg childrenswear; Rikesh worked in the IT industry. They were looking for a business where they could work together and favoured franchising because they liked the concept of being their own boss and working for themselves, but with the back-up, training and support that comes from being part of a big organisation.